Three McGill-Toolen players — Lindsey Cox, E.C. Harbaugh and Anna Reed McNeece — were in double figures as the No. 4-ranked Yellow Jackets used a strong second half to pull away from Spanish Fort 59-48 in Class 6A Area 2 action at McGill-Toolen’s Portier Center on Friday night.

Cox scored 19 points, including going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, Harbaugh scored 13, and McNeece had 10 as McGill-Toolen improved to 20-4 overall and remained undefeated in area play at 3-0.

“I did think Spanish Fort had better energy to start the game than we did,” said McGill-Toolen head coach Carla Berry. “Energy translates into execution and we talked about that at halftime. Our energy level was at its highest and maximum capacity, and our execution would come as well.”

Junior forward Caterina Granato led Spanish Fort (10-13, 1-1) with 23 points, including six 3-pointers, while Maraya Fields added 15 and Kate Miller 10.

“One thing I like to tell the team is to go ‘APE’ on each other — acknowledge, praise and encourage each other – because we knew McGill’s a really good team and Carla Berry’s a really good coach,” said Toros head coach Bruce Gilliland.

McGill-Toolen led only 15-11 at the end of the first period and it became a slugfest in the second as Granato began finding her shooting touch from the 3-point arc. In fact, the game was tied three times before Cox put the Jackets up by 2 just before halftime with a pair of three throws.

“We talked about No. 33 (Granato) being a good 3-point shooter and I thought her range surprised our kids, so we needed to extend the defense and make her force off the dribble a little bit,” said Berry. “I thought once we cleaned up our matchups, extended our defense and opened our screens a little better, we were able to execute defensively and at least contain them.”

“At halftime, I just tried to encourage them to continue to stay together and continue to fall back on the habits that we build,” said Gilliand. “We wanted to build culture and leadership, and when we beat adversity and stick together and lean on each other.”

McGill-Toolen, though, went on a 13-2 run in the third period to build a 13-point lead and led by as many as 15 before a pair of Granato 3-pointers trimmed the lead to 45-36. It would be as close as Spanish Fort would get as the Yellow Jackets’ defense began forcing turnovers and ran some time off the clock.

“They (McGill-Toolen) made some good plays, and we didn’t capitalize on some opportunities,” Gilliland said. “Granato’s been shooting the ball since she was a freshman on the varsity. She’s one of the best players in the area and she’s just beginning to get better and better.”

“E.C. did a great job coming off screens and attacking the basket to loosen up some things,” said Berry. “Lindsey’s always going to be our catalyst because the defense has to pay so much attention to her and that allows our other players to be aggressive as well when lanes open up. Having everybody else be aggressive and not just rely on our two leading scorers made a difference.”

– Arthur L. Mack

In other high school basketball action from around the state:

GIRLS

CLASS 7A

Hoover 52, Tuscaloosa County 13: The top-ranked Bucs blasted Area 5 opponent Tuscaloosa County on the road on Friday. Hoover jumped to a 15-2 first-quarter lead and carried a 27-4 advantage into halftime.

Alanah Pooler scored 9 points for Hoover to go over 1,000 for her career. Reniya Kelly led the Bucs with 12 points.

Hewitt-Trussville 67, Spain Park 18: The fourth-ranked Huskies rolled past Area 6 foe Spain Park on the road on Friday. Hewitt-Trussville is 3-0 in area play.

Audre Benson led the winners with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals. Jordan Hunter scored 14 points – eclipsing the 500-point mark in her career. She also had 4 assists and 3 steals. Senior April Hooks scored 12 points, had 6 steals and 3 assists.

CLASS 6A

Hazel Green 71, Lee-Huntsville 35: The Trojans picked up their 80th straight win by topping Area 16 foe Lee-Huntsville at home on Friday. Hazel Green is 21-0 and 4-0 in area play.

Jaden Toney led Hazel Green with 15 points. She also had 6 assists. Zyriah Price scored 12 points and had 6 rebounds in the win. Ashlyn Elliott scored 9 points and claimed 7 rebounds.

Jayla Turner scored 16 points to lead the Generals. Morgan Pride added 7 for Lee.

Theodore 43, Saraland 40: Fatou Bane scored 17 points, including 9 in the fourth quarter on Friday, for the Bobcats (6-5). Jazymn Bigham added 12 points.

Saraland was led by Amiah Matone with 13 points and Shakira Williams with 12. Raine Patterson added 9, all coming in the fourth quarter, for the Spartans (7-12).

“We had to overcome some adversity early on, made some adjustments and kept playing. It’s a testament to these girls,” said Theodore coach Ratassia Worsham.

Theodore led by 10 with less than five minutes remaining before Saraland cut it to 34-33 with a 9-0 run. But Bane hit a key 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining to give Theodore a 4-point lead. Bane forced a turnover on defense with 1:25 left as the Bobcats closed the game.

– John Vella

Parker 50, Homewood 34: The ninth-ranked Thundering Herd picked up the Area 9 at home on Friday.

Freshman guard Taniya Smith scored a season-high 20 points to lead the Bison. Smith also had 5 rebounds and 2 steals in the win. Freshman guard Janiya Mines tossed in 15 points and had 3 rebounds for Parker.

CLASS 5A

Carroll-Ozark 52, Greenville 49: The Eagles picked up the win on Friday to improve to 15-4 overall and 3-0 in Area 4 play.

Ameyah Gray poured in 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Carroll. Taliyah Carter scored 12 points and had 3 steals in the win.

Carroll travels to Troy to meet Charles Henderson at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in another Area 4 game.

D’Iberville (Miss.) 41, Williamson 29: ShaDonya Johnson scored 10 points for Williamson (10-6) in the road loss on Saturday.

On Friday, the Lions ran their record to 3-0 in Area 1 play with a 53-16 rout of B.C. Rain. Johnson led the winners with 13 points and 5 steals. Destany Williams scored 12 for Williamson.

CLASS 4A

Good Hope 60, Priceville 48: Top-ranked Good Hope jumped to a 19-10 first-quarter lead and held a 35-23 advantage at the half. The Raiders carried a 49-30 margin in the fourth period.

Ivey Maddox tossed in 26 points to lead Good Hope. Heather Tetro scored 11 and Bailey Tetro added 10 in the win.

Leslie Hames led Priceville (12-6) with 20 points and Ashlyn Johnson scored 10 in the win. Gracin Prater grabbed 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Zoey Benson had 9 rebounds to go with her 6 points.

Westminster Christian 53, Randolph 41: The Wildcats knocked down 10 3-pointers on the way to the road victory on Friday. Five different players scored 3-point buckets for Westminster Christian.

Senior Brianna Tinsley led the winners with 15 points. Seniors Saryah Martin and Tygen Kross scored 11 points each. Kross made three 3-pointers on the night and Martin had two.

Madison Deorio scored 17 points to lead Randolph. Ashleyn Hafley added 11.

Westminster (4-14) led 23-22 at the half after hitting 6 of their 10 3-pointers. Randolph (6-8) scored the first 5 points of the second half to pull ahead 27-23, but Westminster took control of the game with an 18-4 run to close out the third quarter.

– Jimmy Lay

UMS-Wright 42, St. Paul’s 40: Anne Freeman’s layup with 8.2 seconds left gave No. 6 UMS-Wright a large enough margin to hang on for a victory in Part I of the Battle of Old Shell Road over Class 5A St. Paul’s at St. Paul’s A.S. Mitchell Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

The two rivals, located about 2 miles apart on Old Shell Road in Mobile, will meet again in the final game of the season on Feb. 2 at UMS-Wright.

Freeman’s game-deciding points came after UMS-Wright (21-4) erased a 4-point third-period deficit. Sadie Knight and Bailey Washington also hit key baskets in the pivotal fourth quarter, as they finished the game with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Knight got 9 of her points on three 3-pointers.

“It was a fun high school basketball game,” said Bulldogs head coach Terry Canova. “I can say this: Everybody who came here got their money’s worth. We were trading buckets and credit coach (Amanda) Niehoff. She does an amazing job with those girls; she puts them in the right positions to be successful.

Ella Vallas was the lone St. Paul’s player in double figures, as she scored 18 points.

“Both schools have gotten their programs where it doesn’t matter the records; it’s Old Shell Road,” said Niehoff. “I think it was a really good game.”

St. Paul’s (12-8) was up by 4 in the fourth period before the Bulldogs tied the game twice, but Vallas scored on a put-back after a missed free throw to put the Saints back up by 2. But with 41.8 seconds left in the game, Washington scored on the back end of a one-and-one, and 17 seconds later, put UMS-Wright up for good on a layup and free throw. Freeman’s layup gave the Bulldogs a 4-point lead and Vallas’ uncontested layup at the buzzer accounted for the final score.

“They made some plays at the end and we didn’t,” said Niehoff. “We had a couple of front ends of one-and-ones we missed, and we left some points on the floor. When you play a team with the caliber of UMS, you’ve got to make those free throws.”

The game was tight from the beginning, as UMS-Wright clung to a 1-point lead after the first period. It stayed close throughout the half and though the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 4, Saints’ guard Fancy Malone drilled a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to make it an 18-17 game.

Seven lead changes highlighted the third period before the Saints got another 3-pointer from Malone to put St. Paul’s up 26-25. UMS-Wright pulled to within 1 before another 3-pointer by Lillian Little and a basket by Margaret Wilson gave the Saints a 6-point lead. Ellie Mostellar’s basket just before the end of the period got the Bulldogs back to within four at 31-27, setting up the thrilling final period.

“It was a testament to our kids with seven lead changes,” said Niehoff. “In an atmosphere like this, when something bad happens, things can snowball. Neither team let that happen. Tonight, UMS made a couple of big plays at the end.”

“I thought they did a really good job on our shooters and making it tough for us to make 3s,” Canova said. “We had to earn every one of them and they made it tough on our shooters. It was important for us to score getting to the basket and Bailey Washington did a tremendous job getting to the rim. She made a big and-1 that was tremendous.

“After last night, the girls had to be tired physically and mentally, and I could not be prouder of our group for just finding a way to win. Last night wasn’t a very pretty game, but we cleaned things up a little bit and we weren’t as sloppy.”

UMS-Wright plays at Williamson on Tuesday night, while St. Paul’s has three area games in the next 10 days — at LeFlore on Tuesday, at Vigor on Friday, and hosting LeFlore on Jan. 24.

On Friday, the Bulldogs beat St. Michael 39-32, surviving a scare on the road at St. Michael with the Area 1 win. UMS-Wright, 3-0 in area play, was without leading scorer and rebounder Noel Freeman for all but 2 seconds of the game.

Junior Amelia Meador scored 11 points to lead UMS-Wright.

– Arthur L. Mack

St. John Paul II 47, West Limestone 39: The Falcons claimed the regular-season Area 15 title with the home win on Friday. Fifth-ranked St. John Paul II is 17-4 overall and 6-0 in the area.

Ashlyn Plott led JP2 with 17 points. Ella Watts scored 13 for the Falcons in the win.

St. John Paul II travels to No. 9 New Hope for a 6 p.m. game on Monday.

CLASS 3A

Danville 50, Colbert Heights 20: Elisabeth Hand registered a double-double in Danville’s Area 15 win on the road on Friday. The senior center scored 10 points and claimed 10 rebounds for the Hawks.

Olivia Vest scored 11 points for Danville.

Junior Emily McGaughy led Colbert Heights with 6 points.

Trinity 75, Alabama Christian 31: The Wildcats had five players hit double figures in the Area 6 win at home on Friday.

Mya Moskowitz led Trinity with 16 points. She also had 6 rebounds and 5 steals in the win. Maddie Smith scored 13 points and had 7 assists. Emma Kate Smith scored 13 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and had 4 assists and 4 steals. Francie Morris scored 12 points, passed out 7 assists, had 5 steals and blocked 3 shots. Jayden Mitchell added 10 points and had 5 rebounds for Trinity.

CLASS 1A

J.F. Shields 48, Georgiana 34: The home team earned the Area 3 win on Friday despite a double-double effort by Georgiana’s Lillie Boggan. Boggan scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She also had 7 steals and blocked 2 shots.

BOYS

CLASS 7A

Huntsville 57, Sparkman 39: The Crimson Panthers went on the road Friday night and led wire-to-wire to knock off Area 7 rival Sparkman in a battle of Top-10 teams. The No. 3 Senators had not lost in a month, coming off an impressive showing in winning the Huntsville City Classic for the second straight year.

No. 8 Huntsville started the game on an 11-0 run early and never led up. A stifling defensive performance and an efficient offensive night was the formula for the Panthers. Huntsville led 16-7 after one quarter, 29-20 at the half and 39-28 headed into the final period.

Simon Walker scored 19 points to lead Huntsville. The 6-foot-5 sophomore shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, including all four of his 3-point attempts. He also snared 5 rebounds.

Caleb Harrison recorded 10 points and 7 rebounds while Ja’Mari Arnold added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists to put Huntsville (16-7, 3-0) in the driver’s seat of Area 7.

Sparkman (17-5, 1-2) was led by Karmelo Montgomery’s 12 points.

Huntsville plays on Wednesday at Class 6A No. 1 Pinson Valley at 7 p.m. in the 256 vs. 205 Showcase.

Brentwood Academy 64, Sparkman 45: Brentwood, ranked second in Tennessee by MaxPreps with a 15-3 record, handed Sparkman its second straight loss on Saturday in Nashville.

Will Hawkins and Cameron Jones led the Senators with 10 points apiece. Warren Jackson and Jayden Garner scored 9 points each for Sparkman (17-6).

Baker 68, Mary Montgomery 65: The fourth-ranked Hornets improved to 16-5 and 3-0 in Area 1 with the narrow win at home on Friday. Baker led 22-14 after one quarter, 34-24 at the half and 54-48 headed into the final period.

Labaron Philon tossed in 27 points to lead the winners. Alex Threadgill scored 9 with Charles Taylor and Josh Flowers adding 8 points apiece for Baker.

Erik Washington and Jeremiah Bolton scored 14 points each to lead Mary Montgomery. Zion Hunter scored 11 points for the Vikings.

Baker plays LeFlore on Monday at 10:30 a.m. at the Mitchell Center in the Bridge Builder Classic.

Hoover 83, Tuscaloosa County 62: Top-ranked Hoover knocked off the No. 5 Wildcats on the road in an Area 5 showdown on Friday. The Bucs trailed 14-12 at the end of the first period, but outscored the home team 23-10 and 28-16 in the second and third quarters, respectively.

The Bucs had five players finish in double figures, led by DeWayne Brown with 20. Brown also grabbed 6 rebounds and had 4 blocked shots. Salim London scored 13 points with 4 rebounds. Jarett Fairley scored 13 and had 5 assists. Elijah Thomas scored 12 points and Elijah Herron added 10.

Jonathan Caicedo claimed 7 rebounds and had 4 assists and 3 steals to go with his 8 points for Hoover.

The Bucs play at 11:30 a.m. on Monday at Thompson against Alexander, Ga.

88

High School Basketball: Hewitt-Trussville at Spain Park

Spain Park 56, Hewitt-Trussville 36: Sixth-ranked Spain Park used a 22-9 third-quarter run to subdue rival Hewitt-Trussville and pull away for a the Area 6 win on Friday night.

Junior Chase James hit three 3-pointers in the critical third quarter and finished with 15 points. Senior Zach Gray also had 15.

The Jaguars trailed by 2 at the half.

“Well, Hewitt-Trussville’s good,” Spain Park coach Chris Laatsch said. “They guard really, really hard. They made us have to work for every bucket. We only had 20 points at the half, and we’re averaging 62 points a game.

“Credit to their defense. Offensively, they possess the ball and take the shots they want, so it’s a slower game than we like.”

The Jaguars (18-3, 3-0) hit six 3-pointers in the decisive third.

“We had a hard time getting in rhythm, but then once we were able to finally get some rhythm shots on the back side, we got some open 3s and guys stepped up and knocked them down,” Laatsch said. “We’ve got multiple guys who can knock it down, I think we can make anywhere from eight to 10 a night.”

Sam Wright, a 6-foot-7 senior, finished with 14 points for Spain Park.

“He’s an unbelievable kid,” Laatsch said. “He’s a dream to coach. Great leader. He can play inside and outside. He can score with both hands around the rim. He’s a great kid, a great competitor and a great player. He’s huge for us, no doubt.”

Junior Reid Stodghill led the Huskies with 12 points.

Spain Park is scheduled to play Hartselle at 3 p.m. Monday. Hewitt-Trussville (15-8) will play Central-Phenix City on Tuesday.

– Cameron Buford

Chelsea 67, Oak Mountain 58: The Hornets pulled away from a 30-29 halftime lead to earn the Area 6 win on Friday.

Paul Lanzi led Chelsea with 28 points, including 13-for-15 from the free-throw line. Avery Futch tossed in 18 points for the Hornets.

Matthew Heiberger poured in 26 points for Oak Mountain. Tre Thomas scored 18 for the Eagles.

Dothan 79, Eufaula 61: The Wolves picked up the road win over 5A Eufaula on Friday, rallying from 12 points down at the end of the opening period.

Thomas Dowd, a 6-foot-7 senior, exploded for 32 points, 10 rebounds with 4 blocked shots in the win.

Bryson Berry tossed in 21 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Wolves. Mahkai Menefee added 11 points with 4 rebounds and a pair of steals.

24

McGill vs Spanish Fort Boys Basketball

CLASS 6A

McGill-Toolen 67, Spanish Fort 44: No. 5 McGill-Toolen had four players score in double figures as it used a strong fourth period to defeat Spanish Fort in Area 2 action at McGill-Toolen’s Portier Center on Friday night.

Bennett Russ led McGill-Toolen with 16 points, while Alex Shamburger had 14 and Jack Murphy and Devin McCaine had 10 points apiece. The Yellow Jackets remained undefeated in area play at 3-0 and are 17-6 overall with the win, thanks to a strong pressure defense and a deep bench.

“This team’s identity is based on pressing the whole game, so we told them to keep it up,” said Mc-T head coach Phillip Murphy. “Our effort this season with this group is unbelievable; even when they’re making mistakes and not playing well, we never lack effort. We go after the basketball and that’s something we count on.”

Spanish Fort (13-7, 2-1) was led by Joshua Powell, who scored 15 points — 10 of them in the third period. Tyler Whigham had 9 points. The Toros were dominated on the boards and had some costly turnovers in the second half.

“The problem was rebounding,” said Spanish Fort head coach Jimbo Tolbert. “We did not get enough rebounds to win this game. We didn’t value the basketball on the offensive end at a high enough rate to win the game, and that’s what it boils down to. We just got outrebounded and turned the ball over too much.”

Drake Van Hulzen’s 3-pointer gave the Toros an early lead, but the Yellow Jackets fought back and went up 16-11 at the end of the first period. McGill-Toolen stretched the lead to as many as 10 in the second period on Tristan Brower’s 3-pointer before Spanish Fort fought back and stayed within 34-26 at the end of the half.

Powell helped close the gap to 5 points in the third period and it appeared the Toros would make a game of it. However, a Murphy 3-pointer sparked a 9-4 run to boost the lead back to 10. In the fourth, McGill-Toolen finally forced some crucial turnovers, creating some points in transition and outscoring Spanish Fort 19-5.

“We played 11 guys tonight, and we were able to rest guys,” said Murphy. “We told them some shots would eventually fall and to be able to build that big lead in the second half was big for us.”

McGill-Toolen hosts Murphy on Thursday, while Spanish Fort plays Mary G. Montgomery on Monday.

– Arthur L. Mack

Theodore 49, Saraland 46: Vanderbilt football signee Kamrean Johnson scored 20 points as Theodore rallied past Saraland on Friday night.

Saraland led 26-23 at the half.

Dez Williams scored 18 first-half points for Saraland and finished with a game-high 29. He made four 3-pointers in the first half.

“In the first half, we were trying to weather the storm,” Theodore coach Philip Roebling said. “They were shooting so well.”

Saraland built its largest lead of the game – 36-27 with 4:55 left in the third quarter – but Brayden Jenkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 12-0 run and give the Bobcats a 39-36 lead heading to the fourth.

The Spartans led just once in the fourth at 40-39. Jenkins hit another 3 with 5:34 left to put the Bobcats ahead for good. Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 8 seconds left to seal the win.

“We are a second-half team,” said Jenkins, who finished with 9 points. “Tonight, we were focused on stopping them more defensively.”

All five starters scored for Theodore (6-6).

– John Vella

Mountain Brook 71, Shades Valley 44: Junior guard Ty Davis scored 18 points to go over 1,000 in his career as a Spartan in the road Area 10 win on Friday. Davis also passed out 10 assists and had 5 rebounds for No. 4 Mountain Brook.

Julius Clark scored 16 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in the win. John Colvin scored 13 with 4 rebounds and Lawson Gardner scored 10 points with 3 rebounds for the Spartans.

Robertsdale 56, Baldwin County 45: BJ Powell scored 14 points to lead Robertsdale (16-5) to the Area 2 win on Friday.

Gabe Stevens scored 13 for the Golden Bears and Ja’leal White followed with 11.

Jay Bolar and Kobe Johnson each had 12 for the Tigers.

Central-Tuscaloosa 57, Greensboro 45: The Falcons improved to 13-9 on the year with the road win on Friday.

King Larkin had a double-double for Central with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Javion Taylor scored 11 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the win.

Demarius Conner scored 10 points to lead Greensboro. Kaleb Patrick and Tristan Travis scored 9 points apiece in the loss.

Muscle Shoals 71, Hartselle 56: The Trojans scored 22 points in the second and third periods to pull away in the Friday night battle of ranked teams at Muscle Shoals. No. 7 Hartselle led 14-11 after one quarter before the Trojans pulled to a 33-24 halftime advantage. No. 8 Muscle Shoals led 55-39 headed into the final period.

Luke Mosley led the winners with 14 points. Jamir Goodloe scored 12, hitting 5-for-5 from the foul line, and Cedric Summerhill scored 11, with 7 in the fourth period. Jalen Bowens scored 10.

Ryan Dunn led Hartselle (12-10) with 13 points. Dunn hit his final 6 free throws and was 7-of-8 on the night. Ty Odom and Rylan Smothers scored 12 points apiece for the Tigers.

CLASS 5A

St. Paul’s 59, UMS-Wright 49: St. Paul’s jumped out to an early lead and weathered a UMS-Wright second-half comeback for a win in front of a large crowd in Part I of the Battle of Old Shell Road at St. Paul’s A.S. Mitchell Gymnasium on Saturday night.

St. Paul’s and Class 4A rival UMS-Wright are about 2 miles apart on Old Shell Road in Mobile and have a return game set at UMS-Wright in the season’s final game on Feb. 2.

Cade Horton led St. Paul’s with 13 points and Joe Brown added 10 as the Saints improved to 13-6 overall. Although it was not an area contest, it had the atmosphere of a championship game as fans for both teams were on their feet for most of the contest.

“We’re big on our culture and who we are right now,” said Saints head coach Brandon Garrett. “We’re just trying to get everybody to buy in to our coaching and we’re slowly trying to get some momentum and confidence. We’re telling the guys to trust what we’re doing.”

Bridges Simmons had 15 points and Joe Lott added 11 — including three 3-pointers — for UMS-Wright, which fell to 14-9.

The first half saw St. Paul’s brimming with confidence, as a pair of 3-pointers by Chris Bracy started a scoring binge that saw the Saints go up 11-0 before the Bulldogs got on the board with a Simmons basket. However, the period ended with a Horton 3-pointer and St. Paul’s up 17-2.

Things were scarcely better for the Bulldogs in the second period as they did not reach double digits until with 3:15 left in the half after a Lott 3-pointer. UMS-Wright was still down by 14 at that point and, by halftime, St. Paul’s was up 38-19.

Simmons found his shooting touch in the second half and was able to get some points in the paint to trim the lead to 13 at the end of the third period. The Bulldogs narrowed the lead to single digits twice in the fourth period, but were forced to foul and the Saints made some key free throws to preserve the win.

“I don’t think we got complacent – it’s that Simmons is that good,” said Garrett. “He’s an underrated player who does not get enough credit. I have all the respect for him. He’s a fantastic ballplayer and he’s a tough player to guard. He got into the lane and got some easy buckets.

“We weren’t disciplined enough and he got some opportunities to get some 3-point plays to help them creep in. In my mind, I was saying ‘There goes the UMS-Wright team, which is one of the best in the city.’”

“At halftime, I told our team to play harder,” said Napp. “We were much more competitive (in the second half). We were able to match their physicality. It’s a shame we couldn’t find that a little earlier tonight. Bridges got some big points for us. He needed to because nobody else could score tonight. He had to put us on his back in the second half. I’m glad he did, otherwise, it would’ve been a 30-point game.”

St. Paul’s travels to play LeFlore on Tuesday and Vigor on Friday, while UMS-Wright travels to Williamson on Tuesday and hosts Bayside Academy on Friday.

– Arthur L. Mack

Williamson 64, B.C. Rain 44: Silas Evans had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots as Williamson defeated B.C. Rain on Friday. Robert Brown followed with 14 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Corien Hawthorne-Coleman finished with 12 points.

The Lions improved to 3-0 in Area 1.

Huffman 69, Ramsay 65: The Class 6A Vikings edged Ramsay on Saturday at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, despite four Rams scoring in double figures.

Kerrington Kiel led Ramsay with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals and 3 assists. Jalen Jones scored 14 points to go with 6 assists and 4 steals. QB Reese scored 12 points and had 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Zedrick Powell scored 10 points in the loss.

CLASS 4A

Westminster Christian 63, Randolph 15: Top-ranked Westminster Christian clinched its third straight regular-season Area 15 title by crushing overmatched Randolph. Westminster was led by junior star Chase McCarty who poured in 23 points in only three quarters.

Senior Tyler Engle scored 9 and sophomore Kaden Rickard added 8. The Wildcat defense was impressive, holding Randolph to 16 percent from the floor (6-for-36) and 8 percent from behind the 3-point arc (2-for-23).

Westminster made 52 percent of its shots on the night, hitting 22-of-42, including 9-of-19 on 3-pointers. The Wildcats held a 33-20 rebounding edge and forced the Raiders into 14 turnovers and grabbed 10 steals.

Westminster (18-3) took control early, leading 23-3 at the end of the first quarter and increased its lead to 33-8 at the half. The Wildcats outscored the Raiders 19-3 in the third quarter, taking a 52-11 lead into the final period.

Coach Ronnie Stapler pulled his starters late in the third and watched the second team outscore Randolph 11-4 in the fourth period. The win clinches the 4A area 15 regular season title and ensures that Westminster will host the area tournament Feb. 7-10.

– Jimmy Lay

Deshler 59, Wilson 48: The Tigers outscored Wilson 25-6 in the third quarter to rally from a 31-25 halftime deficit in a home win on Friday. No. 4 Deshler trailed 16-8 after one quarter in the Area 16 game.

KJ Anderson led Deshler (15-2) with 19 points, with his final 15 points all coming on 3-pointers. Dee Newsome scored 13, hitting 7-of-10 free throws in the second half. Khalil Bland added 10 points in the win and Dadrian Sanders had 9.

Eli Pounders scored 15 points to lead Wilson. Hunter Freeman tossed in 10 points – all in the first half – with a pair of 3-pointers.

UMS-Wright 60, St. Michael 32: The Bulldogs raced to a 17-2 first-quarter lead in the Area 1 win on the road on Friday. UMS-Wright improved to 14-8 overall and 2-1 in the area.

Bridges Simmons led 10 Bulldogs in the scoring column with 12 points. He also had 6 rebounds. Sims Druhan finished with 9 points.

Josh Kurr led St. Michael with 9 points.

Pontotoc (Miss.) 80, Haleyville 67: Seventh-ranked Haleyville fell to 10-10 on the year with the loss in the Grind2Shine Classic at Shoals Christian on Saturday.

The Warriors, ranked seventh in Mississippi by MaxPreps, improved to 19-2 on the year with the win.

Drake James poured in 24 points for Haleyville. Rome Yarbrough finished with 18 and Bryant James had 13.

Adin Johnson scored 22 for Pontotoc and Zane Tipler had 21.

Haleyville plays Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa at 4:30 p.m. on Monday in an MLK Classic at Brookwood.

CLASS 3A

Midfield 59, Hazel Green 55: The second-ranked Patriots topped 6A Hazel Green at home on Saturday.

DeMarreon Baldwin registered a double-double for second-ranked Midfield (13-4) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Shannon Jones scored 16 points and had 6 assists in the win. Armonie Franklin scored 10 points and had 5 assists.

St. James 53, Montgomery Academy 48: St. James picked up the Area 6 win over crosstown rival Montgomery Academy on Friday.

Skyler Stovall led Montgomery Academy with 14 points. He also had 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. DJ Vinson grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his 8 points and 4 blocked shots.

Montgomery Academy is 9-8, 1-1 in area play. The Eagles play Alabama Christian in another area game on Tuesday.

Colbert County 57, Danville 46: The Indians picked up the Area 15 win on Friday, outscoring the visitors 12-7 and 21-11 in the second and third quarters. Danville held a slim 15-13 lead after the opening quarter before Colbert County rallied for the win at Leighton.

James Berryman scored 10 of his 19 points in the third period to lead Colbert County. Tyler Castle added 14 for the winners.

Aiden Holladay led Danville with 13 points. Gage Taylor pitched in 11 and Huntley Segars added 10.

CLASS 1A

Georgiana 61, J.F. Shields 43: Nasir Cheatham and Jaden Stallworth had double-doubles to lead the Panthers to the Area 3 win on the road Friday night. Cheatham scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with 7 steals and 4 assists. Stallworth scored 12 points and had 12 rebounds.

Jacobie Morgan scored 11 points and had 7 assists for Georgiana (11-6, 2-1).

Brantley 70, Luverne 63: Fifth-ranked Brantley improved to 12-2 with the home win.

Senior Keldric Brown poured in 26 points and hauled down 15 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Dylan Davis also had a double-double for Brantley with 18 and 11 rebounds.

This post will be updated.

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